Munitions are typically designed with a specific operational range, and for a single use. The range and usage are designed to deliver the maximum effect without compromising accuracy. This is accomplished by selectively setting the amount of propellant in the shell, or by altering the containment or shell base configuration. In this manner, manufacturers can offer the same round in multiple operational distances. While this broadens the overall product usage, it also forces the end user either to carry a single munition that may be either ineffective or unsafe, or to carry a large number of shells.
The present invention relates to a munition (cartridge) that includes a propellant unit carrying multiple propellant charges of different capacities, thus allowing the munition's payload to be deployed at a selected one of multiple different engagement distances. In such a case, only one propellant charge is actuated to propel the projectile. It is not desirable to leave the remaining propellant charges in the munition as unexploded ordnance (“UXO”). The present invention addresses that issue.